Inventor's Corner
12/01/2002
Deposition reactor
An integrated deposition system is capable of vaporizing low-vapor pressure liquid precursors and delivering this vapor into a processing region for use in the fabrication of advanced integrated circuits. The integrated deposition system is made up of a heated exhaust system (A), a remote plasma generator (B), a processing chamber (C) and a liquid and vapor delivery system (D), which deposits high-capacity dielectric materials from low-vapor pressure precursors and anneals films.
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The system, according to the inventors, also provides an in-situ cleaning process for the removal of metal-oxide films that are deposited on interior surfaces of a deposition chamber.
6,454,860 B2
September 24, 2002
Craig R. Metzner, Turgut Sahin, Gregory F. Redinbo, Pravin L. Narwankar and Patricia M. Liu of Applied Materials Inc. (Santa Clara, CA).
Alignment device
The system ensures proper alignment position of a pod door within the pod door (A) once the shell is lined up with the pod door. The door positioning assembly (B) includes a cam (C) affixed to rotating latch hubs (D) of a pod door latching assembly (E) and a cam follower (F) mounted around each of the cams (C), which include arm portions (G) that extend out toward an edge of the pod door.
When the pod door and shell are separated, the arm portions (G) are held in a retracted position completely contained within the footprint of the pod door. However, upon rejoining the pod door to the pod shell, mechanisms (H) in the port door rotate the latch hub cams (D).
Cam rotation triggers the arms (G) of the cam followers (F) so that the arms extend out beyond an edge of the pod door (A) and rest against a surface of the pod shell.
According to the inventors, while extended, the arms maintain a desired vertical positioning of the pod door within the pod shell opening. Moreover, as the arms remain extended after the pod door is coupled to the pod, the positioning assemblies prevent the door from sagging in the pod shell or opening as a result of its own weight, a shock or sudden jolt to the pod.
6,430,877 B1
August 13, 2002
Frederick T. Rosenquist and Perry A. Peterson of Asyst Technologies Inc. (Fremont, CA).
Lens gas purification
The method and composition removes contaminants in gas streams used in the contamination-sensitive processes of photolithography and metrology. The synergistic effect of combining an electropositive metal component, a high-silica zeolite and a late-transition metal compound removes or reduces contaminants in gas, which interfere with light transmittance to the parts-per-billion (ppb) or parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels necessary for the gas to be suitable for these uses. The removal of neutral polar, neutral polar aprotic, protic and aprotic alkaline molecules, acidic polar species and neutral non-polar aprotic molecules is accomplished with the composition.
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Depending on the type of contaminant, the composition components are each varied from 10 to 80 parts by volume, with the total composition limited to 100 parts by volume. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA; San Jose, CA) recommends acceptable levels for all contaminants in the 10 to 100 ppt range within the next few years.
The drawing indicates a typical lithography tool, illustrating typical compartments where decontaminated gas may be present.
6,391,090 B1
May 21, 2002
Daniel Alvarez Jr. and Jeffrey J. Spiegelman of Aeronex Inc. (San Diego, CA)
Cleanroom exhaust
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In a single cleanroom (A) for first and second (B, C) wafer processing machines, an exhaust device (D) surrounds the second machine (C) that temporarily produces exhaust gas (E), which is detrimental to the processes in the first machine (B). Additionally, to a first-directed air flow (F) available in the cleanroom (A), the exhaust device (D) generates—in the proximity of gas leakage openings of the second machine (C)—a second air flow (G) that prevents the exhaust gas (E) from further being moved by the first air flow (F) to the first machine (B).
6,390,755 B1
May 21, 2002
Leroy Grant and Gunter Hraschan of Motorola Inc. (Schaumburg, IL)
Cleaning compositions
The invention provides aqueous alkaline compositions that are useful in the microelectronics industry for removing photoresist residues and other unwanted contaminants from semiconductor wafers. The compositions typically contain:
- One or more metal ion-free bases at sufficient amounts to produce a pH of about 10 to 13 and one or more bath stabilizing agents having at least one acid in the same pH range;
- 0.01 to about 5 percent by weight of a water-soluble metal ion-free silicate (SiO);
- 0.01 to about 10 percent by weight of one or more chelating agents;
- 0.01 to about 80 percent by weight of one or more water-soluble organic co-solvents; and
- 0.01 to about 1 percent by weight of a water-soluble surfactant.
6,465,403 B1
October 15, 2002
David C. Skee of Bethlehem, PA
Send your inventions
Information on the patents highlighted above was obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Inventors who have been granted patents within the last six months for new cleanroom and contamination technology are encouraged to submit them to CleanRooms magazine for publication. Send a brief description of the invention along with a detailed drawing to Mark A. DeSorbo, associate editor, CleanRooms, 98 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, NH 03062, or e-mail at [email protected].